Differences on the time span for the proposed fast by civil society leader Anna Hazare remained despite daylong negotiations between Delhi Police and Team Anna, while an agreement had emerged on the venue.
The police are ready to allow three weeks, beginning August 16, to the anti-graft crusader to fast at the historic Ramlila Maidan.
At the time of going to Press, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi left Tihar to meet Police Commissioner BK Gupta at the latter's residence. Sources said both parties reached a consensus, according to which Anna will resume fast on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile late on Wednesday night, doctors of Madenta Hospital checked Anna Hazare at the jail, and informed that the Gandhian was hale and hearty.
Ownership of the ground is with MCD, which has already given permission to the Shri Ramlila Committee of Chandni Chowk to hold the annual ballad festival from September 6. The committee has been celebrating the festival for over a century. Team Anna, however, was sticking to the demand of a month duration for the protest.
Senior police officers said Hazare had initially agreed to seven-days’ permission, beginning from the day he was prevented from fasting at JP Park. He was also happy with talks with Special Commissioner of Police (Law & Order) Dharmender Kumar. However, Kejriwal insisted the police should grant a month’s time.
An officer involved in negotiations told The Pioneer that Hazare was told the police were withdrawing pre-conditions for the hunger strike, including on the number of people. Anna was offered Ramlila Maidan since JP Park was small and could not accommodate more than 5,000 persons. After they nodded in agreement, conditions and restrictions were lifted.
Though Additional Commissioner-level officers were engaged in talks through Tuesday night, Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta on Wednesday deputed Kumar as his emissary at Tihar.
Delhi Police initially offered five days for fasting. Anna and Kejriwal did not agree. Even after a marathon session of arguments, the duo refused to budge from their avowed stance of a month’s fast.
Thereafter, Gupta advised his emissary to hold one-to-one discussions with Hazare without any aides. Anna, sources said, agreed to the offer of seven days’ permission.
Sources said police were even willing to extend the time span till August 31, as Id was falling around the same time and preparations of the Ramlila would also get into motion.
The police’s hands would be full.
After hearing out the negotiators, sources said Anna told Kumar he wanted permission for the fast to be counted from the day he was prevented from doing it at JP Park. Delhi Police happily agreed to it and even told him that the permission could be extended after that too, on a day-to-day basis.
Anna was told that since they had listed Ramlila Maidan as one of the five venues, Delhi Police was ready to allow him and his men to sit there. A senior police officer said the ground’s capacity was 25,000 and police would allow that many people in.
According to police officers engaged in talks with Anna Hazare, police even agreed to lift restrictions on the number of vehicles that can be parked at the venue. Police conveyed to Anna and his team that they will allow medical examination of all those sitting on fast with Government hospital doctors and doctors chosen by Team Anna as well.
After lunch, some of the other members of the team — like Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh and Prashant Bhushan — too joined negotiations along with Kejriwal. Since Hazare is known to act in consultation and with Kejriwal insisting on a month’s time, talks were deadlocked again by 6 pm.
Thereafter the team of negotiators again went back to their seniors at Police Headquarters and Delhi Government. After a detailed discussion, around 8.30 pm, it was conveyed to the emissary that the police were ready to grant permission till September 5, meaning 21 days from August 16, the day on which Anna was disallowed to fast at JP Park.
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